Speech: UNIFEM: Development Effectiveness: Gender Equality at the
Core
of Aid Effectiveness - By Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director,
UNIFEM
"Anticipating this increase, in January 2005, developing and
developed
countries agreed in the Paris Declaration that achieving the MDGs
depends
not only on increased ODA (Official Development Assistance) but also
on
a significant increase in aid effectiveness.
Women in particular looked forward to the boost this increase
would give
to efforts to implement commitments to gender equality
and women's
empowerment made in the Beijing Platform, especially in
developing
countries.
However, 18 months later, ODA has not increased. In fact, in
2006, the
total actually fell, down 5.1 percent from its peak in 2005.
Eliminating
debt relief, which spiked in 2005 with debt cancellation in
Nigeria and
Iraq, the drop is only 1.8 percent. Overall, however, eliminating
debt
relief from ODA totals shows a very modest increase over the last
five
years, including 2005, highlighting the fact that other forms of aid
will
have to increase very substantially if there is to be any realistic hope
of
reaching the US$130 billion target by 2010, as OECD (Organisation for
Economic Co-Operation and Development) has stated quite clearly....."
__________________________________________________________________________
OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development)